Chic Peak!

One of the most unique aspects of life on Oahu is the merging of metropolitan sophistication and tropical beauty. The world’s most iconic fashion labels attract style-conscious clientele to their boutiques in Ala Moana Center and Kalakaua Avenue, while postcard-perfect beaches draw relaxed tourists and wave-seeking surfers only footsteps away. Why settle for one world, though, when you can have the best of both?

Worth One’s Salt

It’s not often that Honolulu—where every other new restaurant seems to be an izakaya joint—gets a whole new genre of eatery. But that’s what happened when Kevin Hanney, the man behind the pioneering contemporary-American bistro 12th Avenue Grill, opened Salt Kitchen & Tasting Bar.

Far-West Side Story

Most major art galleries are identified with a single personality—an impresario of sorts who’s been in it since the beginning and can talk about the good ol’ days, before the art world was quite so moneyed, when they were “the little guy,” too. Gagosian Gallery has Larry Gagosian; Pace has Arne Glimcher; London’s White Cube has Jay Jopling, a favorite figure among U.K. tabloids.

No Reservations

Open Table was standing between me and dinner, and I wasn’t pleased. I’d decided to head to Spasso, the eight-month-old West Village trattoria, for a last-minute meal, but 5:30 and 10:45—the nether reaches of the table-booking spectrum—are rarely digits you want to hear. The bossy restaurant-reservations website wasn’t putting out, a curious situation on a sweltering night when most eateries seemed to have plenty of room for paying customers who might help to fill the vacant-city overstock of available seats.

Open House

“Business in the front, party in the back” usually describes the exotic, bi-level hairstyle known as the mullet, but the concept is infinitely more attractive—and enduring—when applied to a 163-year-old townhouse near Gramercy Park. Behind the traditional red brick facade of this two-family dwelling is a light-filled showplace that is equally adept at hosting playdates (colorful playground equipment can often be found on the main terrace) and formal gatherings.

True Reality

Before I became a contestant on Food Network Star this past summer, a reality-show chef had some advice for me: “You don’t have to win. Just be memorable.” In planning my visits to Graffiato, the new Penn Quarter restaurant from Top Chef runner-up Mike Isabella, I got to thinking about his on-air transformation from cocky competitor to grandmama’s boy—and began to wonder if he didn’t follow the same bit of wisdom.

Off the Wall

Deb Johns has broken into a fever—of Anglophilia, that is. Symptoms include wild use of vintage finds from tins to teapots that reek of Jubilee chic, a collection of crowns in every material from distressed gold to dog-toy rubber, and a liberal balm of Union Jack pillows spread throughout her historically registered Georgetown manse.